Two months had passed without much problem for the civilizations on the Cerulean Planet. In fact, the Qin Empire on the Heavensend Continent was on the spurt of its growth. It was because the frontline was on their continent and it opened all sorts of opportunities to gain wealth.
With the information gained from the frontline as well as Tatsumi becoming a source of information, the efficiency of the Cerulean Defense Force increased. They even managed to expand their territory on the enemy’s planet and had a radius of twelve kilometers from the Rift.
But the most pressing issue was about the infiltrators who had entered the Cerulean Planet. The Hunters was the countermeasure that General Wazowski had devised and it worked well; at least they found about six creatures and exterminated them.
They had to keep the Hunters on search for two months because they had not found all the infiltrators yet.
And the one who led the group of mixed between ordinary and transcendent was Long Wu. His status as the strongest transcendent and also the Imperial Tutor of the Qin Empire made him the most dazzling star of the frontline.
At this time, he went with the Hunters to look for the clues left behind by the Mist Glings.
‘My disciple was being attacked by them! I swear I will find them and kill them. Their total number should be twenty-nine and the Hunters managed to get rid of six. This is slow.’ Long Wu thought about it and it made sense.
The Queen knew that her agents were exposed and decided to hide to avoid hot pursuit. But unfortunately, Long Wu knew that the hunt would not be done until all the infiltrators were eliminated.
‘Besides, she would not even realize that we knew the exact numbers of her agent. That is an advantage we need to cover up, otherwise she would realize that we are basically cheating somehow.’
Long Wu extended his senses, making them sharper, more receptive. He found several clues regarding the Mist Glings but they could turn into mist to avoid further tracking.
‘No, calling it mist is because they turned into a microscopic size.’ Long Wu then used the undead element as a trigger and he expanded it until it hit a certain part of the grass on the plains.
‘A reaction? It is an unusual reaction.’ Long Wu then got closer to the blade of grass that reacted to his undead element. This was how Long Wu found the traces of the infiltrators; they left something behind despite their capability.
Then he spent some time searching for more clues while the Hunters slowly came to his side. They also looked for clues with their tools. Despite its limited help, Long Wu accepted their help.
The Mist Glings were directly controlled and monitored by the Queen so their movements were meant to shake off their pursuers. Long Wu had to admit that the Queen of the Swarm was a formidable figure.
But it did not mean that he could not find the infiltrators. It just took time. But the place Long Wu was in was actually somewhere near the border of the Qin Empire.
‘One pattern is clear. The infiltrators are closing in on the populated area. In other words, they are targeting the safe area. What is the purpose of doing this other than to look for the stronghold of our forces?’ Long Wu thought carefully before he looked at the others.
They were diligently examining every place with their tools. The tools were actually an undead element detector. Just like its name suggested, it was meant to be used to detect undead element.
According to the intel, the Mist Glings were injured by the undead element and now they were in hiding. The undead element had to be purged from the body, or they kept gnawing at the life force inside the body, slowly weakening them.
But the Mist Glings were hiding from the Hunters, waiting for something important to expose themselves. If there were no important thing, they would continue hiding.
The path in the plains was straight without curved turns, making the panoramic view quite good. The trace ended there and Long Wu knew that they had to go to the slightly less populated area to find them.
But that took time and would likely be detected. Knowing the plan of his opponent would change how he approached the problem.
Then the communication officer got closer to him, handing him the walkie-talkie.
“Base Zero has just contacted us, saying that they need you right now.” The communication officer said.
Long Wu nodded before he grabbed the communication device. He placed it closer to his mouth so that he could relay what he wanted as soon as possible.
“Long Wu here. What’s the occasion?”
“There’s a new development in the situation. The General has announced the emergency situation and instructed you and the Hunters to return to base.” The other end of the communication device said this.
Long Wu frowned because he was so close to getting rid of the seventh infiltrator but he finally sighed.
“Copy that. The General better have a good explanation for this.” Long Wu said before ending the communication and returning the walkie-talkie to the communication officer.
“Thank you for informing me about this matter. Inform the rest that we must return to the base immediately.” Long Wu said, giving instructions to the communication officer.
-
“Everyone from the Hunters is here.” General Wazowski was present at the base near the Rift on the Cerulean Planet’s side and called the Hunters to the base. After seeing the Hunters finally gathered, the General seemed to seriously consider his next words.
Long Wu knew that the meeting was a bit secretive since it was done in a temporary building with a lot of space for the Hunters to sit on the chairs provided by the Cerulean Defense Force.
But the General personally talked to them, which was the unexpected part.
He spoke, “We recalled you this time because of our strategic purpose. As you all know, the remnants of the Snatcher still exist even now.”
That was something everyone in the building knew about. But what the General said next surprised them.
“The Strategic Intelligence Division has discovered that there is likely a connection between them and the infiltrators. They…turn traitors.”
Murmurs of disbelief as well as a questioning voice slowly appeared but the General was letting them because this was new to them.
He had seen many things in his life but when he turned to look at Long Wu, he found himself staring into an abyss. It was dark, bottomless, as well as full of indescribable mysteries that better remain unknown.
‘Such a lust for revenge.’ General Wazowski commented in his mind about the person he had just observed.
‘I think that he is the leader of the Hunters. The strongest transcendent in our force. There are so many titles to be tied with him but what makes him our ally is the fact that he is the opponent of the Snatcher.’
The General looked at the others but still focused his gaze on Long Wu.
Long Wu then calmed his mind. His target converged into one which meant that his problem could be solved once and for all. He was glad about it as it made the matter simple. But he had to calm down first as he did not want to lower himself in front of the General of the Cerulean Defense Force.
“Unfortunately, our agent has perished, exposing this information. He did convey this information but not the plan that our cooperating opponent has devised. So I ask you to be the one who would deliver the judgement to the infiltrators as well as to the traitors.” General Wazowski said in a somber voice.
“Your objective has changed. Other than tracking the infiltrators, you are also responsible for tackling the traitors. They moved separately but with the same objective and purpose.
“You are our answer to their threats. I ask that you are to be able to stand the test that this Star Battle brings. There will be additional personnel so don’t worry about the lack of them. Any question?” General Wazowski then let his speech end and let the Hunters ask questions.
Several people raised their hands. Wazowski chose one person.
“You first.”
“Where is the area last visited by these traitors? Any news of their movement in the Heavensend Continent?”
Wazowski coughed a few times to set himself up to be more proper before replying.
“They are active around the border territory in the northwest and the western region.”
The people knew the significance of the words spoken. It was the border territory where the Empire expanded. Meaning there would be more chaotic situations there than the rest of the Empire.
“Anyone else?” Wazowski simply went to the next person who wanted to ask.
There were several people who raised their hands and he had to choose once again.
This time, Wazowski chose a woman and pointed to her.
“You then.”
“Will the additional personnel include transcendents? Because if we want to deal with both, we need them. But from what I heard, most transcendents were sent to the frontline. Where do you get additional transcendent?”
General Wazowski stayed silent for some time before replying.
“There are more transcendents in this world than you realize. Due to some confidential secret that cannot be leaked to you, the number of transcendents in the Heavensend Continent is actually in the hundreds. But peak transcendents can be counted on one hand. Of course, transcendents will be sent as additional personnel since we are dealing with something big.”
The woman realized that the General was talking in a straight tone and did not even divulge the secret that was supposed to be kept secret. So she nodded in understanding.
“Is there anyone else?” Wazowski asked once again.
But he saw that none of them raised their hand. He smiled slightly and then planned to continue the discussion.
-
Dian, who was watching things from the Planet Master Space, realized that the language barrier was down and the Planet Master System did not give a proper response.
According to what he knew, the language barrier should not be put down during the Star Battle. It was because there was a chance that the two sides would not go according to the set rules of the Planet Master System.
This was prevalent for the First and Second Rank Star Battle.
‘The fact that the Planet Master System did not deliver its punishment meant that the system deemed the action to be not against the rules. It means the opponent used that to gather intelligence.’
Dian had to admit that it was a good idea to tilt the tide of battle. But it was not enough to counteract him since he had already prepared for that eventuality.
First, he sent the information to Tatsumi. Then Tatsumi would send it to the personnel who were influential at the Cerulean Defense Force and then the information would spread to the entire force with the discretion of General Wazowski.
Leif was handling the logistics of the Cerulean Defense Force both through the Undead Secret Realm and the sea by ships.
Ghylea, on the other hand, was handling the transcendent energy on the planet as a whole. Ghylea noticed that a small transformation had occurred and knew that the Transcendent Academy was the first one to make a research paper about it.
Dian was handling the main force as well as the Hunters. It was because he wanted to see what kind of decision the humans would make when confronted with the harsh reality and it did not disappoint him. They were already thinking of retaliating against the act of the traitors with their own show of force.
“Master.” Ghylea who was monitoring the situation of the Cerulean Planet’s transcendent energy, suddenly called him. Dian turned his head to the black cloak figure who was beside him.
“What is it?” Dian asked.
“If the traitors of the three races worked with the Queen, wouldn’t it become more troublesome?” Ghylea said.
While they were having this conversation, Leif also noticed and looked at them intently.
“It looks like you are asking on behalf of someone else. Fine, let me answer that.” Dian knew what they were worried about.
“This is the necessary progress for my civilization. There might be resentment left after the Star Battle and I understand that. Therefore, I am giving them an outlet for them to unleash their worst. Of course, the price they have to pay is death.” Dian spoke about something that could haunt the civilization of countless Planet Masters.
“Even if it means that you have to work extra?” Leif joined the conversation.
Dian turned to look at Leif before he looked at his opponents.
“We are Planet Master. The matter of the planet falls under our jurisdiction. Civilization is one of those and I intend to help, not to become their nanny. Furthermore, we can guide the civilization under our management to become better and prosper. Shouldn’t it be part of our responsibility so that they can properly cherish the thing they have, including their life that is being sustained by the planet’s environment?”
Dian did not know whether it was because he kept watching the humans that appeared on his planet due to some factor but he liked to watch and learn from them.
One thing that he learned was about their will. If directed in the wrong direction, it could cause a massive disaster and headache.
“But that shouldn’t make you decide to just use them as a sacrificial pawn in your scheme.”
“They chose that path so they should not even regret if things go wrong. You have the freedom of choice but it doesn’t mean you are free from consequences. The Star Child under me understood that so shouldn’t those who sided with the opponent’s civilization understand that too?”
Dian went silent for a while before he spoke again, “Is there any change to the living beings on the planet after exposure to the transcendent energy?”
Ghylea replied, “There are some who have transformed. They are the ones who contributed to eliminating the infiltrators. Both on land and sea, some changed due to contact with the Ether.
“This will make the expansion of the territory of the civilization more difficult. The sea also filled with similar creatures so seafaring will be more difficult in the future.”
Dian nodded after hearing that. He had expected that such a thing would happen but it had happened during the Star Battle and indirectly helped them.
Leif then reported on the things under his care.
“The main forces of the Cerulean Defense Force are in the Heavensend Continent and they formed a systematic supply route. They are preparing for the offensive and only need their rear to be stable. As of now, they rely on the Hunters to catch both the infiltrators and the traitors.”
Dian went silent as if he were in deep thought. He realized that the offensive would only begin when the Hunters managed to take care of the problem.
“Other than that, they planned to take the enhanced Bio Weapon to the battlefield. If that is not effective, then they will resort to using nuclear bombs.”
Dian knew that plan since it was the General himself who suggested that. But the implications of the usage of the nuclear weapon to the environment were clear so he thought it would be a last resort.
“Good.” Dian said while focusing his gaze on the system panel that showed the overall progress of the civilization.
“Don’t act on the traitors during this time.” Dian suddenly reminded the two. The two knew what Dian wanted. The civilizations had to be the ones who solved the problem.
“Guide them like I guide the humans.” Dian gave a tip on how to approach things.
Then Leif and Ghylea used their power to give hints and direct the races under them. Whether their effort became fruitful or wasteful was on the people, not them. At least with this, they were helping in their own way.
What a fast learner. Or perhaps, they often look at me when I manage the humans.
Dian felt that his teaching was quite effective, seeing how the two reacted.
He focused on one of the situations on the Cerulean Planet where the Hunters were going to investigate the traces of the traitors. Then he shifted to another where Tatsumi was trying to absorb more Ether through special plants, increasing his strength.
One was the current strongest force he had, while the other was the potential of the future where it could rise to new heights.
But he waited for something else. Something that had done all of the things on his planet.
[Planet’s Spirituality awakening at 70%]
He looked at that notification and realized that the speed of the awakening process had become faster during the Star Battle.
Is it because of the Rift that connects two planets, or is it because of the mutual enhancement to the living beings on the planet that caused this?
Dian did not have all the knowledge, so even he could only speculate about this point. One thing was for sure, his action was the cause and he felt like he should be able to see the awakening of the planet’s spirit.
“When it awakens, I wonder what it can bring to my planet and what kind of profit I can get.” Dian could not help but wonder about it since he could potentially become the second Planet Master to awaken the planet’s spirituality at the Second Rank.
Perhaps with the spirit, the hunt for the infiltrators will become easier.
But Dian could only let the races under him try dealing with the problem first.